Helping Hand
by majorfangirl
Summary: After being rejected by the blondes of their dreams, Chouji and Hinata decide to help each other out, but falling in love with someone else wasn't part of the plan. ChoHina, some NaruIno, ChoIno, NaruHina, ShinoTen, NejiSaku, KibaSaku, ShikaTema
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Couldn't resist this idea when it came knocking! Even if I don't really like Hinata anymore.**

**Sunako: Wait, do I have to be your little commenter on everyone Hinata story?**

**Me: No, I just wanted to use you.**

Chapter 1: Blonde Rejections

Hyuuga Hinata and Akimichi Chouji were both similar in something: love interests. The two of them loved big-mouthed, blue-eyed, blondes. They thought these people were perfect for them but they had never said anything yet.

Hinata was a timid girl with white eyes and indigo hair. Her shyness was doubled when she was near Uzumaki Naruto, the man of her dreams. He, unfortunately, hadn't known she existed for a long time.

Akimichi Chouji, on the other hand, wasn't that distant with Yamanaka Ino, a gorgeous girl that he had been in love with. In fact, her dad was friends with his dad (along with best friend Nara Shikamaru's dad.) The Akimichis, Yamanakas, and Naras went way back.

Chouji was a reddish brunette who ha always been overweight. While he was generally a very nice person, whenever he was teased about this, he would go into combat mode. He and Hinata had become good friends over the years and got along really well.

Chouji, Hinata, Naruto, Ino, Shikamaru, Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino, and Gaara were all juniors in high school. Hinata's cousin Hyuuga Neji, Rock Le, Tenten, and Kankuro were all seniors. Shikamaru was currently dating Gaara and Kankuro's older sister Temari, who had already graduated.

Sakura was very good friends with Ino and Naruto. She used to have a crush on Sasuke, but got over it when he began dating Karin, a girl from another school. Kiba and Shino were best friends and good friends with Hinata.

Now Sakura was more interested in Neji while Kiba crushed on her. Gaara, the mysterious redhead, didn't spend much time with anyone, but he had a close friendship with Naruto and was always nice to Hinata.

Hinata had only been in one relationship before and that was the disaster zone when she and Shino had decided to try dating each other.

Chouji had never been very lucky at all. He had always had his eye on Ino, ever since they were little kids, but she had never noticed him unless he was playing with her and Shikamaru. Now that they were high schoolers, it was only at anything involving their families.

Hinata's eyes opened one Saturday morning. Today she had been invited by Sakura and Ino to get coffee. She hummed a little to herself as she pulled on her clothes and again as she walked to the kitchen. No one was there so she continued to hum.

"Pretty cheerful, huh?" asked Neji, coming into the room.

Hinata's face went red as she tried to stutter a response. Neji laughed to himself and left, he himself having plans with Lee and Tenten.

The next person to enter the room was her little sister Hanabi, who was thirteen and in junior high.

"Hey, Hinata," she said, grabbing a protein bar.

"Hello, Hanabi," Hinata replied. "What are you doing today?"

Hanabi blushed. "I'm going out with Udon. Actually, we're double dating with Moegi and Konohamaru."

Moegi, Konohamaru, and Udon had all been good friends with Hanabi for years. Now Hanabi and Udon dated, as well as Konohamaru and Moegi.

"I have plans with Ino and Sakura," said Hinata before going to the coffee shop where said girls were waiting for her.

"H…hello."

"Hey, Hinata," the two girls said in unison and then glared at each other, as if saying something at the same time was some kind of offense.

"So, Naruto asked me out," said Ino. "I turned him down though."

"But I thought you liked him," Sakura said, confused.

"Well, I do. But I _have_ to play hard to get," the blonde girl said as if it were obvious. Hinata, meanwhile, couldn't believe what she was hearing. Ino liked Naruto? Naruto liked Ino? Ino had turned him down? If he had asked her out, she would have said yes in a single heartbeat!

"What about you, Hinata?" Sakura asked.

"Huh?"

"Who do _you_ like?" Ino asked. "Don't worry, you can trust us."

"I-I…uhm…I liked…uh," Hinata tried to think of someone other than Naruto. "I like…Ch…Chouji."

"You _do_?" asked Ino. "I've known him most of my life, but I've never thought _any_ girl could ever fall for him."

"Don't worry, Hinata, your he'll surely like you too someday," Sakura said. The shy girl inwardly sighed because they were being all supportive and she didn't even _like_ Chouji. In that way, anyway. She mentally slapped herself for not saying no one or being perfectly honest.

And what's this with what Ino had said? Did that mean that she wouldn't ever date Chouji? Well, she probably wouldn't, now that she thought Hinata liked him. She might have just messed up a possible relationship for one of her good friends.

It wasn't shaping up to be a very good Saturday.

~X~

Akimichi Chouji sighed to himself. Ino was out with her friends and Shikamaru was sleeping in. (Probably shooting for a new record) For now he was completely alone. He shoved another handful of chips into his mouth and thought about who else there was. Hinata was with Ino, which ruled her out. Was there no one who wasn't busy?

He had really been hoping to ask Ino out that Saturday. When Naruto had attempted and got shot down, Chouji realized that Ino was getting popular and he had better snatch her up as quickly as possible.

Ino…all the time he had known her, she had always been like an angel from a dream. Perfect blonde hair, blue eyes that he could fall into if he stared too long, perfect skin…it was quite obvious from day one that she the girl for him. He had never told anyone until the day Hinata found out.

Since then, the two of them were the only ones who knew about the other's secret crush. The fact that even Shikamaru didn't know was strange. He was smart, he should have been able to figure it out on his own. He even had the added bonus of knowing Chouji better than most.

Chouji glanced at one of the many pictures he had of her. No, he wasn't a creeper who worshipped Ino's image. He just grew up with her and Shikamaru, so there were naturally a lot of pictures with her in them. Ones of the three getting ice cream, one of them roller skating, pictures of birthday parties, kindergarten graduation, lots of first days of school, Halloween, Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, Valentine's Day, Independence Day, (A/N: I wasn't in the mood to look up Japanese holidays so Konoha is in America! XD) and a few from a beach trip the three families had taken together.

So many memories involving the two most important to him. In almost every one he had food of some sort, a habit that had never gone away. Most people were repelled by his large appetite. Ino would sometimes scold him, but she was always there anyone and never stopped spending time with him because of that.

Temari hadn't been too pleased to discover that Chouji and Shikamaru were like crossed fingers, but she wasn't rude to him. That would be like insulting Shikamaru himself. Chouji hadn't really seen Temari much since she graduated. She went to a near-by college so that she could still see her brothers, Shikamaru, and her friends.

Temari spent most of her time with Tenten because she was close to her age (she had made a TERRIBLE impression back in freshman year and it continued to haunt her). She and Ino, though they saw each other often, weren't close. There used to be some jealousy because Temari though Ino would try to steal Shikamaru from her. Ino, meanwhile, thought Temari was going to break Shikamaru's heart, so it wasn't exactly smooth at first.

No matter how not rude Temari was to him, he wasn't bored enough to call her up and ask her to come over. Instead, he just sat down and began to watch TV. Soon he would ask Ino out. Soon he would make all his dreams come true.

~X~

Hinata smiled at her friends as they said goodbye. She still couldn't believe that she had told them she liked Chouji. Now whenever he was near, the girls would poke her and point and giggle when Hinata wasn't even interested romantically. But if she had said Naruto, Ino wouldn't talk to her anymore.

One good thing came out of that morning, though. She knew that if she was going to get Naruto, she would have to get him then. She wondered briefly if she should consult Chouji on it. After all, he needed to know about Naruto and Ino too.

She immediately pulled out her lavender cell phone and punched in his all too familiar phone number.

"Hello?" she heard a friendly voice say.

"Chouji? I-it's Hinata," she said. "I…I was with Ino and Sakura and…Naruto and Ino…they…"

"I know. I've already decided to make my move now. If there are other people who want Ino out there, I need to get her first," said Chouji, sounding determined.

"Th-that's what I decided too. So…good lick."

"Good luck to you too, Hinata."

~X~

"So, Hinata, what was it you wanted?" asked the spiky blonde haired boy, standing before the timid girl.

"I…I was wondering…would you like to…to go out with m-me?"

~X~

"Hey, Chouji," Ino said, letting herself in.

"Hi, Ino."

"So, what did you want to say to me? Why couldn't you just say it over the phone?"

"Ino…I…do you want to go on a date sometime with me?" Chouji asked?

~X~

At the exact same time, the two blondes said the exact same thing to crush the spirit of their friends.

"Heck no!"

**A/N: Sunako: *mutter under breath***

**Me: WHAT IS IT THIS TIME?**

**Sunako: I wasn't thrilled about being stuck with Memories, but now I'm in Helping Hand, a story that's gonna be longer than Memories?**

**Me: Yeah? And?**

**Sunako: Excuse me for not sounding thrilled!**

**Me: And I even had daydreams about you and Gai confessing your love to each other while I was on vacation! Meany!**

**Sunako: I love you!**

**Me: Hypocrite. Anyway, Next time: Hinata and Chouji decide to help each other, Tenten wonders where Lee got off to, and Sakura attempts to win Neji's heart.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: If you squint, there's a bit of ChoHina in this already!**

**Sunako: How long do you intend this story to be?**

**Me: Ten or fifteen chapters minimum.**

**Sunako: Vote in the poll, or else.**

**Me: Yeah, seriously!**

_Sitting alone in her room, Hinata let the tears fall freely. Naruto…he didn't like her at all…he had said that he wasn't going out with anyone_ but Ino. She should have known that he would do this to her. She should have known that he would break her heart.

But she wasn't going to give up yet.

~X~

Chouji angrily pulled every picture off his wall. Ino had told him that she was currently taken by Naruto and he wasn't anywhere near her type. All those years of thinking Ino was going to be his dream come true had collapsed.

But he wasn't going to give up yet.

~X~

Hinata thought back to what Naruto had said about Ino. Was he with her now? Or had Chouji succeeded and Naruto didn't know about it?

~X~

Chouji wondered if Ino was really with Naruto or if she wasn't aware of Hinata asking him out. Had Hinata succeeded?

~X~

The two had very similar thoughts that Saturday. And the two were about to go through something together that no one could have predicted.

"Hello?"

"Ch-Chouji…Na…Naruto…he said no…and that…h-he could only go out with…Ino," Hinata said, trying not to cry again.

"Ino said no too," he said. "She's apparently in love with Naruto."

"I-I guess that's it then," Hinata said sadly.

"No, it's not. What if we worked together? We could help each other out and win their hearts," he said excitedly. "It's a long shot, but I'm willing to try it, and you'd probably understand Ino better and I'd probably understand Naruto better."

"Do…do you think it would work?"

"I don't know, but it's worth a try."

"W-well…I guess…I could help you," she said quietly. "I-I do know a little about Ino and….and what she likes."

"And I should be able to help you too," he said, and then, in a fake-noble voice added, "We will prevail!"

~X~

Tenten had always spent Saturday mornings with Neji and Lee and her afternoons with Temari. Always. She didn't expect that Saturday to be any different than the others, but when Lee had other plans and couldn't make it, the day was already turning out different than any other.

She had no idea what other plans he could possibly have, but there was nothing she could do about it.

However, when Temari cancelled for that afternoon, Tenten was wondering what was happening to her usual Saturday. For a brief second, she wondered if Lee was with Temari. Maybe she was cheating on Shikamaru! But that was a ridiculous idea.

But when Tenten thought about it, maybe it could happen! They had both cancelled plans with her that day, which seemed strange.

"Hey, Tenten!" called Kiba in the mall that afternoon. He was with Shino who was walking silently beside him.

"Oh, his guys," she said. "I was going to spend this morning with Neji and Lee, but Lee cancelled. And then Temari cancelled for this afternoon!"

"Oh, Temari had to go out of town to visit some relative, but I don't know about Lee," Kiba said, shrugging.

"He's over there," Shino said.

Sure enough, Lee and a brunette were walking hand in hand.

"No way!" Tenten shouted. "He…why didn't he mention anything about having a girlfriend to us?! I thought he was still wallowing in heart ache over Sakura liking his best friend!"

"That wasn't a smart thing to say," said Shino. Kiba sighed at the mention of Sakura being more interested in Neji than him.

"I just can't believe he's still so hung up on her. Kiba, either fight for Sakura or give up on her, nothing else will work," said Tenten. "Any girl would do the same thing and any girl likes someone who would fight."

"Yeah, but you know what? I'm not any girl," he said. "I'm not even a girl! And I don't think I'll do either, I don't want to say anything but I'm not going to be able to give up on her. Look, can we just drop it? You can have heart to hearts about love with some of your girl friends, not me."

"Aw, alright."

"How did we even get to this? I thought we were talking about Lee," said Kiba.

"Yeah, does anyone even know who that is?" she asked.

"I know who she is," Shino replied. "Her name's Haruka, she went to our school freshman year but switched to a private school."

"Oh, now I remember," Tenten said, smiling. "She always had a thing for Lee, always stared whenever her walked past her. Her friends would have to wave their hands in front of her face to get her attention. She had the most adorable crush on him."

She was then reminded of an earlier thought. "Well, now I know that Temari isn't cheating on Shikamaru with him."

"That's ridiculous, Temari's crazy about Shikamaru. Even _I _can tell she's happy the way she is," Kiba said.

"It was just a crazy thought," Tenten muttered. "I'm going to have to call him and inquire him all about his secret girlfriend.

~X~

Chouji didn't know the first thing about what Naruto would look for in Hinata or anything about getting her more attractive. All he knew what that he needed to help a friend (while getting the girl of his dreams, he had to add).

Any other time he could have asked Ino, but after asking her out, he knew things wouldn't ever be the same.

Instead, he was completely on his own here. Then it hit him. If Naruto like Ino, than maybe Hinata need to be more like her. First things first, he needed to get her to be more confidant, be more assertive, and perhaps even turn her into a flirt.

This was going to be a lot harder than he thought.

~X~

Knock, knock. Sakura banged her fist against Hinata's door, there to tell her of something that she had heard from Ino.

"Yes?" said a familiar voice and the door was open to reveal, not Hinata, but her cousin Neji.

Sakura's cheeks became as pink as her shoulder length hair and she came face to face with the dark haired, white eyed object of her affections.

"Oh, hell, Neji," she said, smiling a smile that lit up her emerald eyes. "I was just here to visit Hinata."

"Hinata isn't here right now. She said something about visiting a friend," Neji said. "Is it important?"

"I was only here to tell her something about a friend, nothing too big," the pinkette replied, even though she felt that it was _very_ big.

"Ah, I see. Well, I'll tell her that you stopped by."

"So, Neji, how have you been?" she asked, batting her eyelashes. _I'll win him over for sure_, she thought, grinning wickedly on the inside, but sweetly on the outside.

"I've been fine," he said. "I went to go out with Lee and Tenten this morning, but Lee told us he wouldn't be there."

"That's not like him. I wonder why he didn't come."

"Well, believe it or not, Tenten called me and it appears he had a date with a girl who used to go to our school," Neji said. "Maybe you remember her? Minto Haruka, I think she'd be in your grade."

"Of course I remember Haruka! She had the biggest crush on Lee and despised me because of it," she replied, not too thrilled that their "romantic moment" involved talking about her former classmate's love life. She was happy for Lee, though. He was a great person and deserved a wonderful girl, one that cared about him more than Sakura could.

"Well, anyway, Sakura, if that's all you wanted, I have a test on Monday that I need to get back to studying for."

"Oh, of course, sorry to bother you," she said before leaving.

Damn, that wasn't long enough!

~X~

"C-confident?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah, I figured that if Naruto likes Ino, he must like confident girls, and, not to be rude here or anything, but you're about the opposite of that," said Chouji.

The indigo haired girl hung her head. "You're right, I…I'm sorry…"

"See, right there you just let me walk all over you, why don't you try that again, and this time say something like, 'Who are you calling unconfident?' or something?"

"Um, okay…I'm…I'm plenty confident, Ch-Chouji! Everyone…everyone stares when I walk b-by!"

Chouji was silent for a moment, before they both burst out laughing. When they stopped laughing, Hinata gasped at the time.

"I need to get home, it's almost time for dinner!" she said. "Goodbye, Chouji, and thanks a whole lot!"

Chouji stared at her run out of his room and had to convince himself that it was only because she hadn't stuttered once in that sentence.

~X~

Hinata, for some odd reason, felt like she was floating on air as she walked- more skipped- home. Her head was in the clouds so much so that she didn't noticed when she passed Ino's house. She didn't even notice Ino until she had stopped her and said, in a serious tone, "Hinata, we need to talk."

**A/N: Cliffhanger! Warning, Ino's not going to be so nice in the next chapter, but it had to be that way for the story. I like Ino much more than Hinata, but that's just how it had to be.**

**Sunako: Review or I'll get you!**

**Me: Yay! You actually joined in on the fun! Also, vote in the poll on my profile for a new crossover fic from me.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: This story is odd hiatus because I got so many ideas for this chapter. I'm working on outlining it so that the story goes a little faster and easier.**

**Sunako: So, here is an update.**

**Me: but before you get mad at Ino, remember that Hinata was the one who lied to her!**

Friendship Troubles and Texts

"Y-yes, what is it, Ino?"

"I don't know what you were thinking, you bitch. Were you jealous because Chouji likes me? Is that why you asked Naruto out?"

Hinata tensed. She hadn't even thought about how Ino would feel about it. She should have known that word would have gotten to her. After all, she was interested in dating the boy with the biggest mouth in the whole TRI-STATE AREA. (A/N: XD, sorry, couldn't resist)

"I…I…"

"You _knew_ that I liked him. Hinata, you heard me say it this morning! And you told me that you liked Chouji! So! Is it because Chouji likes me? Is that why?"

"Ino…"

"Shut up, Hinata! I thought you were my friend! But maybe I was wrong. A real friend wouldn't betray my trust like that!"

"I…Ino, I don't…I never did…like…"

"I know you don't like Naruto! That's why you used him to get back at me! Well, I can't help it that Chouji likes me!"

"N-no, Ino…I _don't_ like Chouji that way!" Hinata burst out, shocked that she would face her new friend like that.

"What do you mean, you liar?"

"I…I've always liked…N-Naruto….for years now…but when you said that you liked him…I…lied so that you wouldn't get angry at me," she said softly, scared to look the furious blonde in the eye.

"Lot of good that did for you!" she snapped. "So, what, it's better to lie to me and go behind my back with the guy I've liked since daycare than to just talk about it and sort it out?"

"I-Ino, I'm sorry but-"

"I don't _care_, Hinata! I thought you were better than that, but I guess I was wrong about you. I never thought you'd be the type of girl to hit on your friend's crush." She laughed bitterly. "Who would have thought that it was all just an act?"

Ino stormed off to her house angrily, leaving Hinata to cope with the tears on her own.

~X~

"Are you serious?"

"As a heart attack," Ino replied gravely, sounding like an old person. She had just finished telling Sakura what had gone down with Hinata over the phone.

"I never thought Hinata was that type of girl," Sakura said, shaking her head even though Ino couldn't see her. "To think I even went over to her house to tell her about her supposed crush!"

"You went over to her house?"

"Yeah. She wasn't there but I did get to talk to Neji."

"Ooh, really? You know, you two would make such a cute couple! Almost as cute as me and Naruto!"

"So, what's the deal with you guys? Are you together or not?"

"I told you, I've got to play hard to get, forehead!"

The two gossiped about anything and everything but left the subject of Hinata untouched for the rest of the conversation. She was obviously not something that needed to be spoken of further.

~X~

Chouji was pretty shocked when he got a text from Shikamaru. The lazy Nara usually didn't bother with text messaging, instead waiting for someone to contact him first. If she weren't so forceful, Temari wouldn't hear from him for weeks at a time.

_Heard you asked out Ino._

He quickly thumbed his response: _Yeah, but she likes Naruto._

_So what are you going to do?_

_Nothing. What can I do? _Chouji didn't, for some reason, want to tell Shikamaru about him and Hinata. He was actually embarrassed to be taking dating tips from the shy Hyuuga.

_I dunno. Why chase a girl? Just let her come to you._

_Nobody's going to come to me like Temari did to you. And I bet a lot more girls liked you and were just too scared of Temari to confess._

_Whatever. Look, I've known you for years and I know that there is some girl out there for you._

_This is completely out of character for you._

_Eh, sometimes I've gotta act like this for my friend._

_Shika, it's not that I don't enjoy the pep talk, I just don't think that's true. I don't think any girl could possible attracted to me. Besides, I've liked Ino for a few years now and I don't think I could really move one._

_Well, if you aren't going to change your mind, then there's not point in arguing with you._

The text conversation was quickly ended and Chouji went back to thinking about Ino and Hinata.

~X~

Elsewhere, Tenten was also involved in a text with Temari, who was stuck at their uncle's after a family reunion. She was bored and Tenten was providing the entertainment.

_So what did you do without me?_

_Well, it wasn't just without you. Lee cancelled this morning. Guess what? He has a girlfriend! I Haven't had a chance to talk to him about it yet._

_Seriously? Who would have thought a girl would like him?_

_Hey, now, he may not be world's hottest, but he's a real sweetheart and he knows how to treat a girl._

_Okay, whatever. So, you were with Neji, alone? Give me all the details and don't give me the same bit about how you two are just friends._

_But we are! I'm telling you, I don't like Neji._

_Whatever, keep telling yourself that. What else did you do today?_

_I hung out with Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino for a little._

_Oh? What was that like?_

_Well, Kiba's kinda obnoxious, but he can make me laugh. Shino's kind of quiet but he's totally awesome._

_So you like him._

_My gosh, Temari! Having a boyfriend has made you way too romantic! Why do you assume that I like all my guy friends?_

_Well, I'm just trying to help you realize your feelings for whoever you like. That's all._

_Well, I don't like anyone, so you don't need to "help" me._

_You can say whatever you want, but I know you're going to find somebody and then you'll be begging me for help._

_Yeah, right._

~X~

Hinata silently picked at her dinner, while Neji and Hanabi stared at her. Her dad didn't seem to notice, but when she felt her cousin and sister's eyes on her, she started eating, not really tasting it.

She was only thing about Naruto and Chouji and Ino. She had created a huge mess for herself by trying to get the guy she liked and she didn't even really see who was at fault, though she had a sneaking suspicion that it was her.

All she wanted was a date with the guy who hardly knew she existed, who didn't care about her, who didn't know how many days she followed him home from school, just to get to be near him. All her days in kindergarten when she was amazed at how despised he was by the other children?

Was that even love?

Of course it was. She had always loved Naruto because she loved how bad a time he had as a child. She watched him suffer in loneliness without trying to help him through it because she was in love with him.

She was definitely in love with Naruto, that's why she never did anything to help him. Hinata smiled, reassured, and was able to eat. She even went back for seconds.

**A/N: There! Okay, sorry for all the texting, I have unlimited texting and I LOVE IT! Oh, and the ending: that is the true truth behind NaruHina and I couldn't resist tossing it in.**

**Sunako: You're such a jerk.**

**Me: I know! ^^ Now, vote in the poll on my profile if you like yaoi, yuri, or incest, because those stories will be those kinds of pairings for my Love is Blind project!**


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